Breather-pipe.



` n. E. Kunz.

snmnzn PIPE. Arfucmo rlLEn'Amiu, isla.

Pawnted Sept; 24, l

web? v" 77M and this agitation -or s N UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEicE.

ROBERT E. KURTZ, 0F ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI.

BaEaTHna-rirn.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, ROBERT E. KURTZ a citizen of the United States, residing at t. Louis, Missouri, have invented a certain new and useful Im rovement in Breather-Pipes, of which the ollowing is a full, clear, and exact description, such as will enable others skilled, in the artl to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to engines and mahines of the type that comprise a crank case adapted to containV lubricating oil and equipped with a breather pipe through which ases or vapors in the crank case can escape rom the crank ease. When such machines are in operation the oil in the crank case is agitated violently or thrown u wardly sol as to lubricate certain parts of t e machine, lashing of the oil produces a fine mist4 o oil in the crank case which becomes mixed with the vapor or gases that escape from the crank case through the breather pipe. y

The main object of my invention is to provide a breather ipe for engines or machines of the ty e re erred to, which is equipped with an e cient means of novel construction for separating the oil or other liquid from the gases or va r that escape from the crank case through t e breather pipe when the engine is in operation, thereby eifecting a considerable saving in the consumption of oil and preventing the machine from becoming covered with oil in proximity to the breather My invention is applicable to any kind of an en ine or machine that comprises a crank case t at contains lubricating oil, and which is equip ed with a breather pipe, and'while I have erein illustratedV my invention embodied in a breather pipe for internal combustion engines, I wish it to-be' understood that the invention isl not limited in its use to an internal combustion engine.

. F' re 1 of the drawings is aver-tical sectiona view of a portion of an internal combustion en ine equipped with a breather pipe constructe in accordance with'l my invention. 4

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view of the' means that is arranged inside of the tubular shell of the breather plipe for effecting the separation of the oil om the gases or vapos that travel throughA the breather pipe; an Y Fig. V3 is a top lplan view of said means.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Referring tothe drawings which illustrate the preferred form of my invention, A. designates the crank case of an internal combustion engine which contains lubricating oil a' that is avitated or thrown npwardly into the cylinder B of the engine when the engine is in operation. Said crank case 1s equipped with a breather pipe' C whose upper end communicates with the atmosphere and Whose lower end comnub nicates with the interior of the crank case, as shown in Fig. 1, so that the gases or vapors in the crank case can escape therefrom, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1, when the engine is in operation. The fine oil mist that is produced in the crank case by splashing or agitation of the lubricating oil becomes mixed with the gases or vapors in the crank case, and consequently, considerable oil is carried out of the crank case by the gases or vapors that escape through the breather ipe.

In or er to separate the o il from the gases or vapors that esca e from the crank case I construct thebreatlier pipe C in` such a manner that it forms a relatively long passageway' `or a lurality o f 'passagewaya through which t e escaping gases or vapors travel, the walls ofnsaid passageway having sufiicient area and being of such form' that the oil and other hea particles of the mixture will be ro'ecte against sadwalls with considerab e` orce, and thus' be completely separated from the gases or ,vapors before said ases or va ors escape from the upper end o the breat er pipe.

I prefer to form the breather pipe :in such a manner that the escaping 'mixture will. travel orwhirl upwardly in a, substantially spiral direction through a passa mixture against the underside of the down-` .wardlyLinclined top wall of the passageway.

The breather pipe can be constructed in various ways toaccomplish the desired result above mentioned, and while I have herein illustrated'l only one form of my invenf tion, I wish it to be understood that the invway whose` walls slope downwardly an outwardly Patented sept. 24, 191s.

Application tiled-April 17, 1916. Serial No. 91,715.

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f that forms a. spiral passagewaypr aplurilvention is not limited-toa breather pipe of the exact construction herein illustrated. The breather ipe C herein shown consists of a vertically-dlsposed, tubuiar-shaped shell 1 Whose lower end communicates with the,

interior 'of the crank case A and Whose upper end communicates with the atmosphere, the upper end of said sliell'bein'g' preferably closed by a .-removable capor cover 2 which is so ,designed that the interior ofthe shfell is always in communication' with the atmo'sf phere. The shell lis provided with arneans it o,f spiral passageways through theshel'l '\v osetop and bottom walls slope downwardly and outwardly from thelongitudin'al Centexy axis ,of the shell,` andfwhleyarious means may be used for this purpose, the means that I prefer to use consists vof` a vertically-disposed shaft `3 arranged inside of the shell 1 and provided with vanes or blades 4 that extend spirally around' said shaftfrom vthe lowerto 'theupper end of saine and which are disposed at an approximately acute angle to' saidfshaft, as shown in' Figa 1. I'n the form of' my' invention herein; 'J illustrated the shaftf3'v is provided 'wvfi'tnftvvo spiral vanes,"each ovvhih1i s continuous and 44extends fromthe vupper'to'ftlie lower-fend of'said shaft, saidvanes vsilo ing downwardly and'outyvardly from :said s aft "andthe 'outer-'edgespf saidjvaiies bearing against" the 'inner' walLof the shell 1" so that the "interior of said' shell" will be divided into -tWo 'spiral'` passageways'whoselower endsV communicate with the interior of 'the crankfcas and whose pperends'teain'ate proximit'yfto the'u'pper'endof thebreather pipe. v'The[sliuiiftv' and 'the vallesy thereon can be formed a single unit that is removably mounted' 'the shell 1, pif, the louter edges 'of the varies' 4 can' "bey permanently attachedto the S5811'1.;"Iislessential, however 'thatthe Yanes "not I Jfnl-y impart 'Whirl to th f escaping: @strafbar-*the th, mixture inwardly, t j 111.11 'qhter'axiis of the breather passa evvays :with considerable @onse- "quent y the o linfthe mlxturevfvillfbe Gon-1 4 thfoll adhering to, th, S .irf'l wird being conducted by saine eck tthelfnk chirac, r descansacbm Lemos? case or to any other suitable oil container.

breather pipe of the construction above describedv not only eifectivel separates the oil. from the gases or vapors t at escape from the crank case and thus reduces the oil consumption and prevents the maohinemfrom b emg vcovered with oil in proximity uto the breather'pi'pe, butt also insures a free escape or passage of the gases or vapors from the crank case, this latter'feature being` due tothe fact vkthatfthe" gases"'-follo'yvl a regular path -in traveling throu'gli the" breatherl pipe".vl

Furthermore, as thebreathei'j pipe has a sur;

fac'e (5f-relatively' greatl-areathat ise'ngaged by the ases 'or vapors thattravel 'th-rough the b'rea ylier pipe, there'is a tendency lfor the gases oi' vapors to'becomecondesedin traveling through the breatherl pipe. As lpreviouslystated,'it is immaterial, so far-'as my broad idea concerned, whether the spiral vanes` 4 'are permanently connected to the shell 1 rarearranged 'in fsaid ashell in sucli af manner that-they can be removed" therefrom.y I prefer, however, to ccmsjtruct the breather p lpe in the particularv manner-here'- i-nillustrated, namely, with the spiralyanes 4 removably mounted inthe shell, for` such-'a construction makes it poss'ibletoonvert an ordinary straight tube breather :pipe :into-a breather 'pipe j embodying lmy' 'invention by simply arranging a vertic-a1ly7disposed shaft equipped with spiral vanes vin a straighttube braaapipe: Havingthus described my. invention, what I-claim, and desireto' secure by" Letters -Patent, is: 'T1'. A breather'pipe for machines of the character described provided'wvith a spirally wound member that is engaged'by a mixture traveling through the 'breather pipe, said' member being. arranged,` at approxi- 'Inately an acute angle withreference"to the longitudinal 'center "axis ofthe breatherepi e so tha.t the mixture will be constant y in 'thrown inward-ly toward thefcenteroff said f 21A- breather pipvfor machines-of @hre character providedwith 'aa' sub- 'said passa way* Islopin 'downwardly and outwardlyronr the' longgltudlnal'fcenter axis A reather pipe'for'i'nimh1-1es` of the disposed; tubular-shape member having a spiral vane inside of same, which' slopes downwardly and'outwardl'yfrom the center 'aigrisj 'of said liliexnkie'r-v fso Ethat the "mixture assing'through .the breather. pipe 'will' 'be y towardthe" center axis of said; membaaf .y

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-stantially-spiral passageway' through which am minare passingathrough' the breather' pipe travels, the .top and bottom -wallsof iso 4. A breather'rpipe for machuesofthe 1.2.

character' described, :comprising afverticallysaid member.

disposed, tubular-shaped member, and a lshaft arranged inside of said member and equipped with downwardly-inclined venes thatextend spirally around same so as to deflect the mixture passing through the breather pipe inwardly toward the center of 5. A breather pipe for machines of the 4character described, comprising a tubularshaped shell of cylindrical form, and down Wardly-inclined spiral venes arranged inside of said' shell with their edge portions bearing against the inner Wall of saidshell so that the mixture passing upwardly u `through said shell will be deflected inwardly toward the center of said shell.

6. A breather pipe for machines of the so that the mixture passing through said member will be deflected inwardly toward the center of said shell.

In testimony whereof I hereunto aliix my signature, in the presence of two witnesses,

this thirteenth day of April, 1916.

ROBERT E. KURTZ.

Witnesses:

WELLS L. CHURCH, GEORGE BAKEWELL. 

